The men’s tennis team ended its fall season at the Big Green Invitational Nov. 9-11.
In Hanover, N.H., fellow Ivy League teams Harvard, Brown, Princeton and host Dartmouth competed in the Invitational, along with Boston College and Rutgers University.
Rowan Reynolds ’06 and Milosz Gudzowski ’06 competed in the Flight A singles, and Neil Tolaney ’04 and Dan Arellano ’04 competed in Flight B singles.
Gudzowski, seeded No. 3 in the tournament, lost in the second round to Dartmouth’s David Webb 6-4, 7-6 after drawing a bye in the first round.
Head coach Alex Dorato said Gudzowski was favored entering the tournament, but Webb had a career day.
“That’s what happens sometimes when one is a favorite,” Dorato said. “The other player has a great day because he has nothing to lose.”
Gudzowski said he was not pleased with his performance.
“I definitely could have played better,” Gudzowski said. “But then again, these things happen sometimes.”
Reynolds advanced the furthest for Yale, falling in the quarterfinals Sunday to Dartmouth’s Neal Bobba 6-3, 6-1. Bobba, a top-seeded player at the Invitational, played in the finals yesterday against Brown’s Ben Brier. Dartmouth did not release Monday’s results by press time.
Dorato considered this tournament a breakthrough for Reynolds.
“Rowan had an outstanding tournament,” Dorato said. “He got the confidence to hit harder and go for his shots, which made a huge difference in his performance.”
Reynolds started off playing conservatively in his first match against Dartmouth’s Priya Sahu. Typically, Reynolds plays an aggressive baseline, finishing his points at the net. But against Sahu, Reynolds began with more defensive play.
The change in style hurt, and Reynolds fell behind in the first set, eventually losing 6-2. After a brief regrouping with Dorato, Reynolds rebounded with some big returns to win the next two sets 6-5, 7-5 to take the match.
“At first, that guy was destroying me,” Reynolds said. “But then I just forgot about everything and started playing my game.”
In the second round, Reynolds defeated Boston College’s No. 1 player, Justin Slattery, 6-2,4-6,6-4.
“The game against Slattery was huge for Rowan,” Gudzowski said. “It was the best I have seen him play yet.”
In Flight B bracket, Tolaney won his first match 7-6 in the third set. But he lost in the second round.
Arellano also had an early exit, losing his first match in three sets.
The Big Green Invitational marked the end of the fall season for the Bulldogs. They will resume their season in February.